Claudio Says LOGAN Is Wolverine At His Best

Fox did it again. They had me thinking maybe their movie would suck because of all the hype. Longtime readers may remember the “Deadpool” trailers had my eyes rolling every time a joke punched me in the face. I ended up loving that movie more than I thought I would. Towards the end of the marketing cycle for “Logan”, I was suspecting that maybe these trailers are just showing the best parts and that I’d be disappointed. Man, was I wrong.

For those living under a rock, this is Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart’s last time teaming up together in an X-Men movie. There’s been a lot of buzz about adapting the old man Logan storyline and while this movie takes elements from it, it’s not a pure adaptation. What they take is the basis for this movie. The mutants are gone and Wolverine is at his weakest. He’s hiding out with Professor X on the Mexican border as they try to survive the time they have left until a mysterious young mutant shows up in need of protection. At this point, it’s not a spoiler to say it’s X-23. This time around, director James Mangold has been set loose on this R-rated adventure so the fans can bid farewell to Hugh Jackman the only way they should. From the beginning frame, you’re reminded how gory this film will be, but in its defense, it’s not overused.

Hugh Jackman has always played an excellent Logan, but there’s never been much there as far as a solo outing goes. He’s a great side character in the X-Men movies, but “Wolverine Origins” was met with horrible reviews and “The Wolverine” didn’t leave anyone speechless. With this, you see Logan at a point in his life that we’ve never seen before. With his powers getting weaker with age, they finally added some stakes to the character. If you’ve listened to “The Knowbodies Podcast”, you’d remember me saying how much it bothers me that these kinds of films never make you care about what happens to the characters. “Logan” has you at the edge of your seat the entire time. Hugh Jackman brings so much humility and vulnerability this time around that it pains me to see him like this. Something happened to Logan to leave him in such a rough shape, and the build up to that reveal is done really well.

We’ve seen Professor X be a little crazy with James McAvoy’s interpretation, but Patrick Stewart dials that manic personality to 100. I never imagined what an R-rated Xavier would sound like, but he brought the levity to this otherwise dour story. He and X-23 are the grandfather-granddaughter dynamic I didn’t know I wanted. This little girl, Dafne Keen, is incredible. I don’t know where these talent agents are finding kid actors these days, but continue the great job. With the little she has to work with, she makes you fall in love with the character. Can I also mention what a brutal killing machine she is?

As far as plot goes, it’s simple. They’re running away from certain dark forces and are traveling cross country to somewhere they know they will be safe. It’s more of a character piece on Logan and the relationships he builds. The themes of isolation are still there because Logan doesn’t want anyone getting hurt for him, but it’s also about protecting those that are already around him. The villains aren’t groundbreaking and I would go as far as to say that my only negative is one of the villains they use, but they’re there to move along the story so the film gets a pass on that aspect.

“Logan” is the best X-Men movie to date. It’s bloody, foul mouthed, and not afraid to rip your emotions to shreds. See what I did there? The characters are incredible and the story they’re set in doesn’t overcomplicate itself. When they marketed this as a western style X-Men movie, they meant it. For Hugh Jackman’s last run at the character, I couldn’t be more shocked at how much I loved this and more happy for him to end the franchise on such a high note.